Fortune & Glory – First Look!

Span the world in a boardgame! We look at what’s inside the new box ~

Michael Eckenfels, 4 November 2015

I ordered Fortune and Glory: The Cliffhanger Game about a month ago and got it a few days before a business trip. That business trip kept me away for a week, and then once back I had a lot of catchup to do…so I’m finally having time to open this bad boy up to show it off.

This game is by Flying Frog, whom also made Shadows of Brimstone (another game of theirs that I own). I really liked the Indiana Jones feel to this game – a comparison that is inevitably made in just about any forum or article anywhere about it. It’s just as well, since it is a very apt description.

The box is huge and comes in at about 8 pounds or so (I’m working from memory on the weight from when it shipped to me). There’s a lot of stuff under the hood here, and I’ve seen plenty of videos on it to know what’s in store…but still, it’s nice to experience this for myself!

The back of the box. I really like how this gives a hint at the awesomeness within.

As soon as the box is opened, there’s some Quick Start rules to greet you. Looks like these rules are only for games with 2-8 players and not for solitaire play.

Removing the board, it’s easy to see the layers upon layers of stuff that’s here. Rule book, counters, and much more.

I flipped through the rule book briefly and thought you might like a glimpse, if you haven’t seen it yet. The rules are glossy and colorful, perhaps a bit busy but that doesn’t bother me personally in the least.

More pages from the rule book. I like the artwork and the fonts in the headers; it really invokes the time period of the game.

The game board in all its…uh…glory. The continents are shaped oddly in some cases but this is obviously to facilitate game play. The shapes of the continents actually remind me of the old-school Risk map.

A close up of the North Atlantic and surrounding lands. The art really comes out here in this view. Check out the ship sailing in the middle…I’d call it the Titanic but that’s at least a couple of decades before this game takes place, and it only has two stacks in any case. I also like how the cities are portrayed – even though they are somewhat caricatured they stand out very well with independent interest. With mountains and tundra added in (as well as deserts and other artwork that gives you a feel for the world as it is), I feel I could be drawn into this game easily. I can almost see the Indiana Jones red lines slowly crossing the map.

The markers are nice and thick…and there’s a LOT of them. And swastikas! I won’t get into an argument over that. It was a symbol of the Nazis, and the Nazis feature prominently in this game (as one of two evil powers that players fight against…the other being the Mob). I’ll say this much: bully for Flying Frog for not using an Iron Cross or some other ubiquitous and generic symbol for Germany. Regardless of whether it’s right or not to do it, the swastikas themselves really bring about a feeling of evil power and give you a really good, solid reason to want to bring them down.

The eight character cards represent the characters you can play in the game. They each have their own special skills that are unique to them. Each of them is also rated according to one of for abilities – Combat, Cunning, Agility, and Lore. I believe this represents the number of d6 dice you roll in situations that call for you to use those particular abilities. The more, the merrier.

As mentioned there are two enemy powers in the game – or, “vile organizations.” The Nazis and Mob each have their own special tactics and rules governing their actions. The Nazis have a War Zepplin that I think goes around the world, dropping off little Nazi minions to wreak havoc and occupy cities. I’ll need to read some more about this before I say too much about the game, of course.

Cards! Lots of cards! Four stacks ‘o cards! There are so many in fact that it has been suggested to me that a card holder would be a good way of keeping them out of the way. This game takes up a lot of real estate, table-wise, and anything that can help with that…

A game soundtrack! I’ve not listened to it yet, but have heard of it. It’s not on YouTube or anywhere else (which is a good thing, actually, so maybe the devs are keeping a watchful eye out for this). It’s my understanding that the game soundtrack helps evoke even more of the time period as you play. The only other thing I know is its short, perhaps a bit over 30 minutes long.

There’s lots of markers and figures as well. The quality is pretty nice but these pieces are begging to be painted!

DICE! Lots of dice – well, maybe 15 dice. That might not be a lot of dice to the reader, but if it’s more than a handful (uh-huhuhuhuhuhuh), it’s all good!

And eventually I get to the bottom of the cereal bowl and run out of goodies to ogle. I really like the formed plastic and how it is designed to take everything in a nice orderly fashion. Now, I can’t wait to break this out and give it a try. Anyone interested in a review or an AAR?